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2. Skills >
3. Foreign Workers

Hiring Foreign Academics In Canada

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), universities and colleges in Canada can hire certain types of foreign academics without requiring a Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) labour market opinion, and/or without the foreign academic requiring a work permit.

Positions Exempt From Work Permits and HRSDC Labour Market Opinions

Foreign workers who do not need a Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) work permit or an HRSDC labour market opinion include:

• Academic consultants and examiners;
• Graduate assistants;
• Self-funded researchers.

  Entry to Canada

  These academics can apply as visitors directly at a CIC visa office or at a Canadian Port of Entry, in the case of citizens of the United States, St. Pierre et Miquelon and Greenland.

Positions Exempt From HRSDC Labour Market Opinions

Foreign workers who need a CIC work permit, but do not require an HRSDC labour market opinion include:

• Post-doctoral fellows;
• Research award recipients;
• Eminent individuals, for example leaders in various fields;
• Guest lecturers;
• Visiting professors;
• Citizens of the U.S. and Mexico appointed as professors under the university, college and seminary levels of the North American Free Trade Agreement NAFTA);
• Citizens of Chile appointed as professors under the Canada Chile Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA).

  Entry to Canada

  These academics can apply for a work permit directly at a CIC visa office or at a Canadian Port of Entry, in the case of citizens of the United States, St. Pierre et Miquelon and Greenland.

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Date Modified:

2010-09-15